Anger
by Ryunn Kazan
Summary: Since she had gotten sick. Since Dr. Whale diagnosed her with cancer. Since the horrible disease had sunk its poisonous roots in her blood and bones and spread.


Rumple paused at the sink as he watched his wife from the kitchen window. She emerged from the shed, ax in hand, kicking several soon-to-be deconstructed logs into a pile.

He gripped the sink as he watched her take the ax to the logs, grunting each time the blade came down on the wood. The chore usually belonged to him, but she had taken it up as a way to drain herself of the anger and fear and hopelessness that had been brewing inside her for the past few months.

Since _she_ had gotten sick.

Since Dr. Whale diagnosed _her_ with cancer.

Since the horrible disease had sunk its poisonous roots in _her_ blood and bones and **spread.**

Rumple went back to his task of making coco as Belle's grunts flowed into the kitchen, stabbing his heart each time the blade hit a piece of wood.

He heard a broken cry and dropped the mug he was preparing. Outside, Belle was lunched over the chopping block, clutching the embedded ax as she sobbed bitterly, body convulsing violent as her repressed grief spilled out.

Rumple was in the yard a second later.

"No!" Belle screamed when the door opened.

"Belle please." Rumple beg as he eased into the yard.

Belle snatched the ax from the block, not threatening him but using it as a way to fend him off if he got too close. When she was angry like this, it was move out of the way or get run over.

"I'm fine." She gasped, wiping her eyes with her opposite arm. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine."

"No you're not." Rumple confirmed quietly. "You haven't been fine in a long time."

"Rumple, please, not right now." She threw the ax back into the block and gathered the chopped wood, brushing past him.

"Belle you're not alone in this." He pleaded after her. "Let me help you."

Belle shot around, most of the wood falling from her arms.

"You can't help me Rumple! There is nothing you can do!"

He barely flinched, accustomed to her angry outbursts now. She was right however; there was literally nothing he could do. He couldn't use magic to solve the problem and modern medicine was just barely helping.

Belle lowered her head, her body quaking as a fresh wave of sobs tore through her.

It was at this stage that she would run from him and lock herself away until she was ready to be brave again. He had learned to allow her to do this, but he was never too far away just in case she would allow him to grieve with her.

She never did.

Until now.

She rushed up to him and threw her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder.

He engulfed her in his arms, a quiet sob leaving his own throat. "Oh my brave Belle. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I'm so useless."

"No!" Belle shot from his shoulder. "You are not useless! You've been so strong during this, Rumple. You've stayed away from dark magic and everything else that could have made this worse."

She cupped his face, the first affectionate touch she had allowed him in months.

"I'm sorry for pushing you away, and yelling at you and hurting you and acting like this was only hurting me. I'm just…" another sob broke through and Rumple pulled her to him again.

"I'm so scared." She gurgled at last. "Scared and angry."

Rumple kissed her head. "I know, I know sweetheart. I am too."

"But hey." He lifted her chin and gazed into her wet eyes. "We are going to get through this. We have been through too much, fought for too long to let this break us."

She nodded, truly smiling for the first time in months.

In the beginning of their relationship, she had been his rock.

And now he could be hers.

They could finally be each other's.

They broke a few moments later. Belle regathered the wood and Rumple held the door open for her when they reentered the kitchen.

Rumple poured hot water over the coco mixture, stirring in the milk and vanilla, and adding extra marshmallows into one of the three mugs.

He followed Belle into the living room where she was throwing the victims of her anger into the fire. She then sat down on the couch in front where their daughter laid, cozy in her pajamas and the blanket Granny had knitted for her

He froze when Belle caressed their daughter's cheek before tipping her head down to lay a kiss on her pale, hairless head where curls of chestnut had once been.

The little girl smiled tiredly at her mother, her latest attempt to fight the cancer having exhausted her.

Her light brown eyes moved to him as he laid the tray of coco down. They lit up at the sight of her favorite beverage but her smile didn't quite follow.

She was too weak now to even lift a cup.

Wordlessly, Belle moved behind their daughter so that she was lying against her chest. She took the mug from Rumple and helped her take tentative sips from the mug.

"How's that princess?" he asked her.

She licked the residue off her lip. "It's good daddy, thank you."

"You're welcome." He kissed her head affectionately.

"Now, how about we finish _Little Women_ tonight?" Rumple suggested brightly, picking up the book their daughter had been reading to them for the past week.

The little girl suddenly lost her light, frowning bitterly.

"Could you read it daddy? I don't feel so good."

Behind her, Belle smothered a sob but was unable to stop the tears.

"Yes darling." Rumple agreed, swallowing his own sob as he opened the book where they had left off.

He managed to keep his brogue steady as he read, pausing for emphasis in a few places so that he could blink back the tears threatening to stain the pages.

Their daughter was sick.

 _She was dying._

And they were both utterly terrified and angry.

But they were together and they were going to fight this demon inhabiting their child until it was vanquished.

It was just another monster for them to fight.


End file.
